October 28, 2008

AC/DC’s Black Ice CD Album Hits Number One in U.S. As Walmart Rocks Industry With New Sales Platform

by ssavage

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Walmart is pleased to join Columbia Records today to announce a milestone record breaking event for AC/DC's Black Ice, reaching Number One this week in U.S. music sales. Selling more than 780,000 units in the U.S. since its release Oct. 20, Black Ice also represents the first Number One album for the band on the album charts in the U.S. Exclusively sold through Walmart and Sam's Club locations and online at walmart.com, samsclub.com and acdc.com, the new CD release represents the fastest selling album for Walmart this year.

Not only is the album seeing high interest, but so are all items AC/DC. Since the release of the CD and launch of the AC/DC Rock Again Store area within Walmart stores, other departments are feeling the impact. Music sales at Walmart witnessed the first positive comp sales in months and young men's apparel saw sales get even hotter. The value Walmart has emphasized with the launch of this new section in each AC/DC Rock Again Store -- combining music, apparel, DVDs and even video games -- means customers can buy both album and a new AC/DC shirt for under $20.

This coming weekend starting Nov. 2, Walmart launches another exclusive AC/DC value -- the AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band(R) Track Pack(TM) video game. Developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Games, the game will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii (Wii arrives Nov. 16) for $39.88 and $29.88 for the PlayStation 2. The game is available at all Walmart and Sam's Club locations and at the AC/DC Rock Band "pop up" stores located at the MTV Store in Times Square in New York and at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles. The AC/DC Rock Band pop-up stores will be open through Jan. 4, 2009.

Fans can also go to walmart.com/acdc to preview tracks from the new CD, checkout new videos of the band, get information on the pop up stores shop for apparel and more.

"We knew already AC/DC has a strong fan base, and certainly this last week proves their new music is as strong as ever," said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Walmart Entertainment. "We also knew they were the perfect band for us to create a new concept around music and other categories in our stores. Even in a fast changing and sometimes challenging environment for music, there are bands and ideas that can make a difference, if you give customers your best and at the right value."

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Every week, millions of customers visit Walmart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to its online store at http://www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Walmart is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $296 million to local communities in the United States. More information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com/. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com/.